Not much happens in sleepy Scotts Heads during the off-season, and for many of the locals, that’s exactly the way they like it.
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But this week huge things are happening.
In one fell swoop, the little seaside town has virtually doubled its retail space, and, from today, can lay claim to having its own dedicated GP and medical centre.
“That was one of the core reasons we did this – to get a medical centre in Scotts,” local pharmacist Jasper Young said.
“And it’s great to finally have it, not just for the locals, but for the tourists as well who would otherwise burden the hospital.”
Scotts Head Central has been a pipe dream of Jasper’s for the past few years, but this week it finally becomes reality.
It’s been two years since the plans were drawn up for the new centre, which not only accommodates the pharmacy and the medical centre, but also a much-expanded and purpose-built Laird’s Friendly Grocers, scope for an upcoming cafe/wine bar, and one other retail space.
“I bought the pharmacy just over three years ago. It used to be in an old building which we knocked down,” Jasper said.
Serendipitously, the old house beside the pharmacy was up for sale, so he jumped on the opportunity to reclaim that land for his inspired master plan.
“That’s sort of what kicked the whole project off,” he said.
For the past 14 months Jasper has operated his pharmacy out of a demountable while the centre was being built around him.
But about a month ago, he was finally able to start moving in to his spacious new digs.
Keeping it in the family
Jasper’s sister Natalie was only too keen to be a part of the change and has come on board as practice manager for the new medical centre.
“This has been something that’s been needed in the area for a really long time,” she said.
“The common theme you hear all the time around the Valley is that people can’t get in to see their doctor for three to four weeks – not even for emergencies.”
She was the perfect candidate for the job, with a varied background in pharmacy, practice management, immunology and pathology.
And the new resident doctor, Dr Marlene Pacy, was another obvious choice: 26 years’ worth of experience as a GP, with 20 of those years in rural practices; accreditation in family planning, acupuncture, mental health and nutritional and environmental medicine; and an interest in geriatrics.
Dr Pacy has been operating as a locum and telehealth practitioner for the past few years, and has operated out of the Ballina and Lismore emergency departments.
When asked how Natalie had managed to secure such an esteemed doctor for the Scotts Head community, she grinned, proudly.
“She’s my Mum,” she said.
“We’ve worked together a lot in the past, and we had a practice up in the Gold Coast together. We’re more of a dynamic team compared to your usual practice.”
Today the Scotts Head Medical Practice officially opened its doors to patients.
Friendly (and very happy) Grocers
Since Monday Nikki and Dean Laird have also been busily moving into their roomy new supermarket space.
The pair used to own the Friendly Grocer on River St, Macksville, but felt the call to move to Scotts Head with Woolworths opening and the bypass looming.
They have been dreaming of opening their brand new store in Scotts Head for the past two years.
“The Lairds have been on board for a while, we sort of changed the plans around to accommodate them,” Jasper said.
Their new custom fitted-out premises is one-and-a-half times bigger than the shop they’ve been in for the past six years and incorporates a full kitchen, so Nikki and Dean can eventually get back to cooking their trademark pies, along with a range of other hot and freshly-made comfort foods.
“And we’ve upped our range from a convenience range to a supermarket range in the hopes that locals now don’t have to go into town for things. I want them to have the confidence to know they can call in on their way home from work and get everything they need,” Nikki said.
And despite only having two days to move shop, the Lairds are both remarkably upbeat.
“It’s really great to have a landlord that’s on the same page and wants to see us do well,” Nikki said.
The pair are also offering a range of Scotts Head-branded clothing and souvenirs for peak tourist season, but Nikki is quick to point out that their raison d’etre is their local community.
“We’ve always had a focus on locals – they’re the ones who get you through the winter, that’s who we’re doing this for,” she said.
Everyone is keen for tomorrow when it’s all systems go.
And Jasper is anticipating that it’ll only be another month or so before the new cafe/wine-bar opens its doors to the now pumping Scotts Head.